The present invention relates to an interconnection of wire harnesses for use in vehicles and, more particularly, to a connector used for interconnecting wire harnesses at the door portion of an automobile.
FIGS. 1 to 3 show a conventional structure for interconnecting wire harnesses at automotive door portions by using connectors, wherein in FIG. 1, a door b which is fitted to a vehicle body with hinges and contains a door side wire harness Wb disposed therein and extended therefrom to be coupled with a vehicle body side wire harness Wa by way of a connector at the connector fixing hole formed in a vehicle body panel P. FIG. 2 shows a female connector C1 attached to a vehicle body side wire harness Wa and a male connector C2 attached to a door side wire harness Wb, respectively made of synthetic resin, wherein the door side wire harness Wb further contains a rubber-made waterproof protecting grommet g in such a way that the male connector C2 is entirely covered thereby from its rear side. In this situation, the grommet g can be recognized from outside as shown in FIG. 1.
The female connector C1 attached to the vehicle body side wire harness Wa is formed with a plurality of resilient locking pieces e which are constructed by the slits d and each having a locking projection f at the free end thereof, and also formed, with stoppers h respectively keeping a certain distance from the locking projections f.
As shown in FIG. 3, the female connector C1 attached to the vehicle body side wire harness Wa is fitted into a connector fixing hole P1 of the vehicle body panel P from the inner body side (the right side of FIG. 3), wherein when the female connector C1 is pushed and inserted into the connector fixing hole P1, the resilient locking pieces e are first inwardly deflected and gradually moved forward through, the connector fixing hole P1, and thereafter, when the stoppers h are abutted to the inner surface of the vehicle body panel P, the resilient locking pieces e are resiliently returned to the original positions thereof, so that the locking projections f are latched at the outside surface of the panel P and the female connector C1 is thus fixed to the, body panel P.
By this preliminary arrangement, the male connector C2 attached to the vehicle door side wire harness Wb is mated with the female connector C1 and locked by way of a known locking mechanism (not shown) which is normally situated at the middle portion of the connector, whereby the grommet g is firmly attached to the outside surface of the body panel P to function as its water-proof device.
However, with the construction above, it has been suggested that if the female connector C1 is in such an unstable condition that a plurality of locking pieces e thereof are not perfectly fitted into the connector fixing hole P1 of the body panel P, it is likely to come off from the panel :P when coupling it with the male connector C2, and in such an already advanced preparatory stage, it is quite troublesome to correctly fix the male connector C1 to the panel P from inner side of the vehicle body.
As constructed above, the use of resilient locking pieces which first inwardly deflect and return to their original position after passing through a connector fixing hole) typically suffer from numerous problems. First, resilient locking pieces may be prone to break during deflection and engagement with the connector fixing hole, and may be difficult to disengage during future vehicle service without breakage. Also, where multiple resilient locking pieces are used, it may be difficult to ensure that all resilient locking pieces are engaged and properly seated during manufacturing inspection Consequently, if not properly seated, the connector may become dislodged during use. Furthermore, resilient locking pieces generally do not compensate for variations in substrate thickness. Thus, for example, if the substrate is too thick the resilient locking pieces may not engage properly. Conversely, if the substrate is too thin the resilient locking pieces may engage, but allow the connector to rattle during vehicle use. Also, resilient locking pieces generally do not offer significant removal force in the direction opposite of engagement. Lastly, resilient locking pieces do not offer adequate load bearing surface area to prevent rocking of the connector in the connector fixing hole. Thus, the connection between the connectors may become unstable during use. What is need is a structure and a method for fixing a connector to a vehicle which addresses the aforementioned problems.
In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a method for coupling a first connector which is attached to a first wire harness with a second connector which is attached to a second wire harness at a connector fixing hole formed in a vehicle member. The method comprises the steps of inserting the first connector into the connector fixing hole and partially penetrating the connector fixing hole. The first connector comprises a first locking piece and a second locking piece and a region therebetween. The first connector is then positioned in the connector fixing hole such that the first connector engages a portion of the vehicle member at said region between said first locking piece and second locking piece such that the first connector is prevented from generally perpendicular removal from the connector fixing hole.
According to another aspect the invention relates a method for coupling a first connector which is attached to a first wire harness with a second connector which is attached to a second wire harness at a connector fixing hole formed in a vehicle member is provided. The method comprises the steps of inserting the first connector from an inner side of the vehicle member to the connector fixing hole and partially penetrating the connector fixing hole to an outer side of the vehicle member, rotating the first connector while the first connector is located in the connector fixing hole, engaging a portion of the vehicle member between a first locking piece and second locking piece of the first connector such that the first connector is prevented from free removal from the connector fixing hole, and coupling the first connector with the second connector.
According to another aspect the invention relates to the method of coupling a first connector which is attached to a first wire harness with a second connector which is attached to a second wire harness at a connector fixing hole formed in a vehicle member and further comprises the steps of providing the first connector from a fixed location on the inner side of the vehicle member, and removing the first connector from the fixed location prior to rotating the first connector while the first connector is located in the connector fixing hole.
According to another aspect the invention relates to a structure for fixing a connector to a vehicle member comprising a connector, a wall provided within said vehicle including a connector fixing hole for engaging said connector to said connector fixing hole. The connector comprises a first locking piece and a second locking piece and a region therebetween wherein the first locking piece and the second locking piece are attached to the connector and engage a portion of the wall of the vehicle member at the region between said first locking piece and said second locking piece.
According to another aspect the invention relates to a structure for coupling two connectors for use in a vehicle. The structure comprises a first connector attached to a first wire harness, a second connector attached to a second wire harness, and a wall provided with a vehicle member for fixing the first connector to a connector fixing hole formed in the vehicle member. The first connector comprises a first locking piece and a second locking piece and a region therebetween wherein the first locking piece and the second locking piece are attached to the first connector and engage a portion of the wall of the vehicle member at said region between the first locking piece and the second locking piece without deflection of either the first locking piece or the second locking piece.
According to another aspect of the invention, the first wire harness further comprises a door side wire harness and the second wire harness further comprises a vehicle body side wire harness.
According to another aspect of the invention, the first wire harness further comprises a vehicle body side wire harness and the second wire harness further comprises a door side wire harness.
According to another aspect of the invention, the vehicle member further comprises the vehicle body, vehicle door, or vehicle pillar.